Derrick Favors, Wesley Johnson & Demarcus Cousins Are Better Than Turner

[gwapstyll]

I know Turner was good in college and all, but I really dont think he'll be great in the nba, as we all know, the nba is all about athleticsim, speed, and skill, and Turner is not a great athlete nor is he that fast, I also think Turner is gonna have some injury problems in the NBA but we will see. I just think Cousins, Wes J, and Favors are better in the NBA, after all College doesnt prepare you for the NBA at all,

[Apollo]

Wade was a player who came out late and was underrated heading into the 2003 draft. Now he's one of the elite players in the league. Turner is a Brandon Roy type of player. Roy isn't known for his athleticism but he has enough to aid his skills. Turner is that kind of player. He has enough. All the elite guards have one thing in common, basketball IQ. Many have athleticism but not all do. The key is basketball IQ.

[Mack North]

No offense man, but this is a pretty ridiculous statement. None of them have even stepped onto the court for training camp. You should have titled it "I believe...". And how do you figure the guy is going to be injury prone? He was out for 6 games when he broke his back this season, that seems like a quick healer and a pretty tough dude with a lot of heart in my opinion.

I don't even wanna get into the "college doesn't prepare you for the NBA" comment.

[Tim W.]

I think there's a big difference between not being athletic and not being super athletic. I think with below average athleticism, a player is going to struggle, but you certainly don't need elite athleticism to be an elite player. Steve Nash, Brandon Roy, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams and Manu Ginobili are all perimeter players who have become elite players without elite athleticism. LeBron, Wade and Kobe would still be elite players if they weren't as athletic.

Turner has elements of his game that simply make him special. He's 6'7, yet has the skills of a PG and can become one of the better defenders in the NBA. He also rebounds the ball like a big man. He's aggressive on the offensive end, and is good at drawing fouls and finishing.

I think it would be a huge, huge mistake to pass on Turner because of some perception that his ceiling isn't as high as more athletic players. Teams made that mistake in passing over Roy for Tyrus Thomas and drafting Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce. Evans is going to be a special player, in my opinion, and if I was Colangelo, I'd do anything in my power to try and get him.

[INFO]

I woudl have do disagree with your statement
i also think if we were to pass on Turner for any of those players
i think all of us would go absolutly ape shit

[TM Williamson]

I know Turner was good in college and all, but I really dont think he'll be great in the nba, as we all know, the nba is all about athleticsim, speed, and skill, and Turner is not a great athlete nor is he that fast, I also think Turner is gonna have some injury problems in the NBA but we will see. I just think Cousins, Wes J, and Favors are better in the NBA, after all College doesnt prepare you for the NBA at all,

Um, did you give him a physical there Dr. gwapstyll?

[hateslosing]

Cousins is the only one of those guys who I think might end up being better than Turner, but he is also more risky because of his supposed attitude. If you're going to try to say that athleticism is the most important thing to draft, let's remember guys like Joey Grahm or even our very own POB. These are guys who were drafted because they were great athletes or had great physical abilities and they both ended up useless. There is an endless list of players that were drafted based on their athleticism and physical gifts but failed in the NBA because they didn't have the iq or work ethic to make is happen as a pro. Turner is going to be a very good player in this league: no one should doubt that, and I think he'll even challenge Wall for Rookie of the year.